Florida Security Deposit Return Letter: Free Template and Generator for Landlords
Florida gives a landlord two very different jobs. If you are keeping none of the deposit, you return the full amount within 15 days. If you are keeping any part, you do not send a return letter at all: you send a written Notice of Intention to Impose a Claim within 30 days. Both clocks run from the date the rental agreement terminated, not the day the tenant physically moved out (Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a)). This page shows both documents, generated from the current 2025 statute. Statutes verified July 6, 2026.
This page is for landlords preparing a refund or a claim. If you are a tenant looking for a demand letter, this is not that page.
Which letter you send depends on whether you keep any money
The choice is driven by one thing: are you keeping any part of the deposit? Keep nothing, and the job is the 15-day full return below. Keep even a dollar, and the 15-day return is replaced by the 30-day claim notice, and a clean no-claim return is no longer available to you. Deciding to keep something on day 20 is fine, as long as the claim notice goes out by day 30. There is no penalty on the tool for this: the required document simply changes when a deduction is added.
Path A: the 15-day full-return letter (no claim)
Upon the vacating of the premises for termination of the rental agreement, if the landlord does not intend to impose a claim on the security deposit, the landlord must return the security deposit, together with interest if otherwise required, within 15 days after the termination of the rental agreement. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a)
On a full return you keep nothing, so no itemized statement is required; the deposit (with interest if your holding method required it) simply goes back within 15 days. There is no statutory form for this letter, so the sample below is our own plain template, not a form the law prescribes. Fill in the bracketed fields and send it with the refund.
Full deposit return cover letter (our template, no statutory form)
Re: Your security deposit at [Rental property address]
This letter confirms the return of your security deposit for the rental at [Rental property address], following the end of your tenancy.
Your security deposit was $1,800.00, and I have not made any deductions.
Your full deposit of $1,800.00 is enclosed with this letter.
If you have any questions about this statement, you can reach me at the address above.
Florida Statutes § 83.49: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/83.49
Path B: keep any part, and you must send the § 83.49(3)(a) claim notice
If the landlord intends to impose a claim on the deposit, the landlord must, within 30 days after the termination of the rental agreement, provide the tenant written notice by certified mail to the tenant’s last known mailing address or by e-mail in accordance with s. 83.505 of his or her intention to impose a claim on the deposit and the reason for imposing the claim. The written notice must contain a statement in substantially the following form: Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a)
Here a return letter is not enough. What the statute requires is the Notice of Intention to Impose a Claim, and it must go out within 30 days of termination, by certified mail or by § 83.505 e-mail. The sample below is generated from the statutory form. For the full treatment, the delivery rules, the tenant's objection window, and the forfeiture trap, read the full Notice of Intention to Impose a Claim guide.
The § 83.49(3)(a) claim notice (statutory form)
Re: Notice of intention to impose a claim on your security deposit at [Rental property address]
This is a notice of my intention to impose a claim for damages in the amount of $1,415.00 upon your security deposit, due to unpaid rent for the final month and repair of the damaged interior bedroom door beyond normal wear and tear. It is sent to you as required by s. 83.49(3), Florida Statutes. You are hereby notified that you must object in writing to this deduction from your security deposit within 15 days after the time you receive this notice or I will be authorized to deduct my claim from your security deposit. Your objection must be sent to [Your mailing address].
| Deduction | Amount |
|---|---|
| Unpaid rent for the final month | $1,200.00 |
| Repair of the damaged interior bedroom door | $215.00 |
| Amount of claim | $1,415.00 |
You have 15 days after you receive this notice to object to this claim in writing. If you do not object within that time, I may deduct the amount of the claim and will return any remaining balance within 30 days after the date of this notice.
If you have any questions about this notice, you can reach me at the address above.
Florida Statutes § 83.49: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/83.49
Stating the reason, and what you may keep
the landlord must, within 30 days after the termination of the rental agreement, provide the tenant written notice by certified mail to the tenant’s last known mailing address or by e-mail in accordance with s. 83.505 of his or her intention to impose a claim on the deposit and the reason for imposing the claim. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a)
The claim notice must state the reason for the claim, and that reason is yours to write, in your own words. This tool never composes the reason for you and never tells you whether a particular charge is allowed; you decide what to claim, and a court decides any dispute. One honest point about Florida: unlike some states, § 83.49 never defines, or even uses, the phrase "normal wear and tear" (our reading, from the statute's silence). You cannot charge for ordinary wear, only for damage beyond it, but where that line falls is a fact question. Describe the specific damage rather than labeling it. For where the line commonly sits, and how Florida values damage, see our Florida wear-and-tear guide; for a close call, talk to a licensed Florida attorney.
How to send it
On the full-return path the statute names no required channel; certified mail is still the safe course, because a return receipt is your proof it went out (our reading, paired with that safe course). On the claim-notice path there are only two lawful channels: certified mail to the tenant's last known mailing address, or e-mail under § 83.505.
A notice sent electronically pursuant to this section is deemed delivered at the time it is sent, unless the e-mail is returned to the sender as undeliverable. Fla. Stat. § 83.505
E-mail is available only if you and the tenant signed a § 83.505 electronic-delivery addendum. This is one of the 2025 changes older guides miss: they say certified mail only. Regular first-class mail, text, and hand delivery are not lawful channels for the claim notice.
If you keep money and miss the 30-day notice
If the landlord fails to give the required written notice within the 30-day period, he or she forfeits the right to impose a claim upon the security deposit and may not seek a setoff against the deposit but may file an action for damages after returning the security deposit to the tenant. Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a)
This is the trap that catches out-of-state and first-time Florida landlords. Miss the 30-day window and you forfeit the right to keep any of the deposit, no matter how solid the damage, and you may not set off against it. You must return the full deposit; a separate lawsuit for damages survives, but only after you return it. The forfeiture is automatic and needs no showing of bad faith (our reading, tied to the verbatim text above). The full breakdown is in the claim-notice guide.
Interest, no cap, one statewide rule set
Whether interest is owed depends on how you held the deposit: none for a non-interest-bearing account, at least 75% of the account's average rate or 5% simple interest for an interest-bearing account, and 5% simple interest for a surety bond (Fla. Stat. § 83.49(1), (9)). Florida sets no statutory cap on the deposit amount (§ 83.49). And unlike California, no Florida city adds its own deposit-interest ordinance: Florida applies one statewide rule set, so there is no local layer to check.
Generate this letter free
The free Florida deposit tool walks you through both paths: it works out your deadline, switches to the claim-notice path the moment you add a deduction, and prepares the right document. No sign-up, and nothing you type ever leaves your browser.
Frequently asked questions
What is Florida's deadline to return a security deposit?
If you keep none of it, Florida gives you 15 days to return the full deposit. If you keep any part, you must instead send a written Notice of Intention to Impose a Claim within 30 days. Both clocks run from the date the rental agreement terminated, under Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a).
Do I have to itemize if I return the whole deposit?
No. The itemization requirement applies only when you impose a claim. If you return the full deposit within 15 days and keep nothing, no itemized statement is required (Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a)).
What do I send if I keep part of the deposit?
Not a plain return letter. What the statute requires is the Notice of Intention to Impose a Claim, sent within 30 days under Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a). See our full Notice of Intention to Impose a Claim guide for the form, the delivery rules, and the forfeiture trap.
Does the tenant have to give a forwarding address first?
No. Florida does not condition the return on a forwarding address; you use the tenant's last known mailing address. But a tenant who leaves before the lease ends without giving at least 7 days' written notice can relieve you of the duty to send a claim notice (Fla. Stat. § 83.49(5), (3)(a)).
Is interest owed on a Florida deposit?
It depends on how you held the deposit. A non-interest-bearing account owes none; an interest-bearing account owes at least 75% of the account's average rate or 5% simple interest, your choice; a surety bond owes 5% simple interest (Fla. Stat. § 83.49(1), (9)).
Is there a cap, and do Florida cities add their own deposit rules?
Florida sets no statutory cap on the deposit amount (Fla. Stat. § 83.49). And unlike California, no Florida city adds its own deposit-interest ordinance; Florida applies one statewide rule set.
Can I email the letter or the claim notice?
Certified mail is the default. You may deliver the claim notice by e-mail only if you and the tenant signed a § 83.505 electronic-delivery addendum (Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a), § 83.505).
What happens if I miss the deadline?
Miss the 30-day claim notice and you forfeit the entire claim: you must return the deposit, though you may sue separately for damages. And in any court action over the deposit, the prevailing party recovers court costs and reasonable attorney fees (Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a), (3)(c)).
About this page
Every rule above is cited to the Florida statute it comes from, and the quotes are verbatim from the 2025 text (as rewritten by chapter 2025-16), including the statute's own drafting. Statutes verified July 6, 2026. Primary source: Fla. Stat. § 83.49 (official, flsenate.gov). Read how we verify the law. This page is general information for landlords, not legal advice; Deposit Record is not a law firm, and using this page or the generator creates no attorney-client relationship. For advice about your situation, talk to a licensed Florida attorney.